To Have and Have Not StackMob- Part 2 of 2: The Road Ahead for Mobile Backend Services

Having a mobile backend as a service (MBaaS) will remain an indispensable commodity for a large percentage of mobile developers. Equally indispensable --as evidenced by the plight of Stackmob's locked-in customers-- is an exit strategy for your application data and also for your app's customer's data. Reconfiguring your app's distribution on to another backend service or on to your own servers takes time. Anticipating it will minimize the difficulties of transition for you and for your app's customers. Just as constant debugging and data backups should be part of a software developer's de rigueur, it's wise to have a backend "plan b." That will enable you to export your data to another backend service or onto servers of your own in the event of a StackMob-like takeover or other backend snafu.

StackMob clients and other mobile developers may be wondering what backend options remain after May 11th when its services are officially discontinued. The preceding will be encouraged to learn that there is now a rich choice of MBaaS providers anxious to fill in the gaps left by PayPal's closure of StackMob.

Here is a list of some of the up-and-coming backend options for developers to consider:

Appcelerator- solutions that help deliver native cross-platform apps, mobilize any data source, and drive success with real-time analytics. Developers work in a mobile development environment called Titanium to create cloud-connected native apps using JavaScript.

Backendless -A universal backend providing the server-side functionality as a set of services for any application. @kurt.pimentel "if you are looking to start for free, check out Backendless."

ClearBlade- The company's mobile backend platform allows large enterprises to build mobile solutions that connect to their existing systems in real time. ClearBlade connects your existing systems to mobile, eliminating the need to rip and replace to stay at the forefront of technology.

Cloud Mine- Infrastructure that securely handles both HIPAA and PCI compliance requirements. A mobility suite that provides a wide array of powerful ready-to-go features that previously required significant resources to build. Connect to CloudMine’s single API to craft secure and reliable mobile experiences by leveraging 30+ features often hand coded into mobile backends.

.Net backend for Azure Mobile Services- Features out-of-the-box support for multiple data storages. The mobile service uses a default bootstrapper that initializes the service configuration with default. It employs a Mongo Labs database that is available for free for the sandboxed developer edition on the Azure web portal.

IBM Mobile First- Build and deploy multi-platform mobile applications. Use analytics and mobile to engage and retain fans around the globe. IBM's Worklight software is its mobility solution that supports a consistent user experience across channels and platforms.

Kumakore- backend as a service and product management toolkit devoted to gaming. Grant Yang-CEO and co-founder of Kumakore- "Server technology and product management tools are wheels that game studios shouldn't waste time reinventing."

Loopback- by Strongloop, is a Node.js mobile backend framework that you can run in the cloud or on-premises. It supports mobile specific models like; user, application, push, file and their counterparts in the iOS and Android SDK's. Provides full power of MBaaS under your full control. It's an open source framework built on Express optimized for mobile and web.

QuickBlox- StackMob to QuickBlox tutorial materials that will help StackMob users to switch to QuickBlox. Complete backend service for mobile apps with datastore, push notification services, location features and content storage. QB provides a quick comparison of features from StackMob SDK to those found in the QuickBlox SDKs.

Rackspace- The Rackspace cloud is powered by OpenStack and optimized for open technologies. So you can stay in control of your data, innovate and scale faster than you can in a proprietary cloud. Rackspace is a hybrid cloud environment. Connect public or private cloud and dedicated hardware to create the best fit for your specific needs.

The time may be coming when inexpensive and simple app creation tools render it more difficult to tell the difference between mobile apps made by novices from the apps made by professional software developers with knowledge of Java, Ruby, HTML5, Android, iOS and all of the myriad of other languages in the technological Tower of Babel.

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